Alex Rider Story
by Demonpox
Summary: Set after Scorpia Rising. Alex tries to move on from spying. Has he managed to escape the spy life, only to get tangled in a world even more dangerous or do the CIA/MI6 still have plans for him?  I'm bad at summarys, so you'll have to bear with me.
1. Prologue

**P**ROLOGUE

The first thing Alex saw when he looked out the window of Edward Pleasure's car was the buildings. There were so many of them—they reminded him of London. Tall, all plain formal colours, rising up into the sky. Some things never changed, he supposed; a city would always look like any other city, with buildings, towers and traffic everywhere. Alex surveyed the hustle of it all with a sense of detachment.

Eventually, as Edward drove past the city to a more residential area, the apartments and penthouses disappeared, replaced by suburban homes. Alex studied everything, always looking out the window, and kept his expression neutral. Internally, he was unimpressed with Sans Francisco. But he doubted anything would make him happy right now—except if Jack magically came back to life.

_Jack_.

Alex clenched his fists, suddenly fighting anger, grief, regret—all the emotions that threatened to take over. Instead of giving in to them he waited for numbness to seep in again.

If Edward noticed Alex's quietness, his reluctancy to talk and how his smiles weren't fully genuine, he didn't comment on it. Alex preferred it that way; he wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone about… what had happened.

Edward turned the car down a street lined with identical looking houses. It was obviously a well to do area, full of large homes with even larger gardens. Edward parked his car in front of a creme coloured house near the end of the street. The minute he turned the engine off the car was filled with a stifling silence.

Alex wanted to break it, but he didn't know what to say. Edward, meanwhile, seemed to be hesitating as well. Alex figured he was trying to think of something comforting to say, so Alex quickly shot Sabina's father a grin. "This looks like a nice house," his eyes flicked towards the house and back. "I can't wait to see inside it."

Edward smiled back. "Yes, it is nice. I know Sabina's looking forward to seeing you. So… Let's not keep her waiting any longer."

Relieved, Alex quickly stepped out of the car. He really _didn__'t_ want to talk about Jack.

Inside, Sabina rushed up and hugged him quickly and he realized how much he'd missed her. Her mother—Elizabeth—asked him how his flight was. She made him and Edward some food, the atmosphere suddenly cheerful. Between that and all the light chatter, Alex felt himself relax a little.

~o~

Two weeks later Alex had gotten used to Sans Francisco, at least somewhat. Sabina was having holidays, and since Alex was going to be attending the same school as her, so was he. Sabina and her parents had spent most of them showing him around the city.

He and Sabina were on the balcony of her house now, getting some fresh air. The sun has set a while ago yet it wasn't completely dark. A few stars were starting to come out early, scattered across sky like winking eyes. Alex was leaning on the railing, looking at the city in the distance.

Sabina stood next to him. "Nervous about tomorrow?" she asked, nudging him.

"Who? Me?" Alex joked, his tone a little dry. "Alex Rider, super spy? Afraid of school?" It was the last day of the holidays; school started tomorrow.

Sabina rolled her eyes. "I knew your spy status would go to your head one day."

"No, it didn't," he said, but then paused, thinking of Jack. "Or maybe it did? I don't know… Sab?"

"Yeah?"

Alex kept his eyes ahead, still looking at city in the distance, but not really seeing it anymore. "Do you think… if I hadn't gotten too deep, or too involved, in the spy life, maybe Jack wouldn't have… well, you know." His words surprised himself. _Of course she would still be alive if I hadn't become a spy_, he thought bitterly. _Or maybe if I'd been a better spy_…

Alex turned his head, glancing at Sabina. She looked a little surprised. He couldn't blame her; he hadn't talked about Jack since he'd arrived. Sabina looked as though she was deciding whether or not to say something. "Well," she began slowly, "I don't know if it's all as simple as you're making it out to be. I mean, yeah Jack… might have lived"—Alex cringed—"but if you hadn't become a spy, then she'd have been deported, right? And she'd be in Washington when that Drevin guy would have launched the bomb in his Ark Angel."

Alex blinked at her. He hadn't been expecting an answer like that.

"I pay attention when you talk," Sabina said slyly, "Every now and then."

Alex appreciated what she had said, he really did. It made him feel a little better and a thousand times worse all at the same time. _Some other spy would have stepped in,_ Alex told himself, _right?_ _Right. Jack would still be alive._ Because if he was the only one who could have pulled that operation off, did that mean Alan Blunt was right? Was he really too much of a spy? Alex internally shook himself. "I am a little nervous about school, actually," he said, trying to change the subject.

"Oh. Right. School." Sabina met his eyes and grinned sheepishly. "Well, don't be. Everyone will love you… probably," she added, studying him.

"Oh, that sounds very encouraging," Alex said sarcastically.

"It is encouraging," Sabina laughed.

"You're right—I'll probably fit right in," Alex said, still sarcastic, although he was fighting a smile himself; laughter was infectious. "Actually, your friends were nice today," he added seriously. Earlier that day Sabina had taken him out to a pizza place near their house, where Sabina's friends had been planning on meeting up.

"Oh, yeah, they're great. See? You'll have them, at least," she said. "They thought you were, in their words, 'fun with cool hair'."

"When did they say that?"

"When you went to hang out with that new friend you made—what's his name again?" Alex had gotten along well with a boy from another school. His sister was one of Sabina's friends.

"Lucas," Alex reminded her. "You should know him. He's that girl Jenna's twin brother."

"Oh, right. I'm a little surprised he was there. Jenna rarely mentions him."

They continued talking and joking until it was completely dark and the night sky had turned that deep blackish-blue colour.

Elizabeth called for them eventually, telling them to get some rest for tomorrow. Alex followed Sabina inside, and he wondered if this time he was really free. If there would be no more spying. If no one would have the nerve to call on him again, especially after last time. Or if MI6, or the CIA, or any other secret service, simply didn't care. If they just said whatever they felt he wanted to hear—until the next time they needed him…

Alex pushed the thoughts and questions out of his mind. He decided he wouldn't waste any more of his time on that stuff, no matter how much talent (or more accurately, luck) he had for it. He was out.

Alex stepped inside the house—_his_ house? It still felt odd to think of it that way, although the Pleasure's had insisted he make himself at home—feeling more sure of that than he had of anything in a while. He was out.

* * *

><p><em>Note: One day, I will think of a better name for this story. "Alex Rider Story" just doesn't sound too great xP<em>


	2. Chapter 1

_1 year later._

**1**

* * *

><p>"Guess what?" Sabina began, sounding excited. She appeared in the doorway of Alex's room, her eyes bright. Alex, who was looking through the clutter on his desk, paused, glancing up at her expectantly. "We're going to—"<p>

"School?" He supplied, cutting her off mid sentence.

"No. I mean, yes, in about ten minutes, but what I really meant was—"

"Sab, have you seen my chemistry book?"

"Huh?"

"I can't find it anywhere."

"Well, I don't know—" Alex could practically hear Sabina rolling her eyes

"Hey, do you think Jordan has it? Oh, wait, no he couldn't have because the teacher sent him out halfway through class yesterday for standing up and showing everyone his—"

"Butt?" Sabina guessed, sounding unimpressed.

"His scar, actually. He got it from a biking trip he took last weekend," Alex said, looking amused. "He was disrupting everyone's concentration, according to Mrs Nash. It's blue, by the way."

"His scar?" Sabina asked, looking puzzled.

"My chemistry book. Blue with large black writing on it that says—"

"'Chemistry Book'. Yeah, I get the idea. Shut up for a minute."

"I think that was uncalled for," Alex muttered absently, resuming the search for his book.

"Alex. We're going to New York!" Sabina said loudly, at the same time Alex triumphantly said, "There it is!" Wedged between the back of the desk and the wall of his room was his chemistry book, one of it's blue corners peeking out, giving away it's location. Alex tugged it out and turned to face an annoyed Sabina. She was shaking her head at him, her expression torn between exasperation and humor. He opened his mouth to say something, then paused, her earlier words finally sinking in. "Did you say New York?"

Sabina just shook her head some more, her dark hair falling into her eyes. She pushed it back, smiling slightly. "About time you finally heard me. I thought I'd have to dress up as your chemistry book before you'd—"

"Sab," Alex grinned, growing more amused by the second. "Now _you're _doing it."

"Oh, right." Sabina grinned at him, unabashed. "Well, as I said, we're going to New York." She sat down on his bed. "Exciting, right?"

"I'll say," Alex nodded. He sat down next to her. "When are we leaving?"

"Next week sometime. School ends tomorrow, so it'll be the Summer Holidays anyway."

"That's—" Alex searched for a word. He'd been to New York before, briefly, but he hadn't really seen the city.

"Awesome?" suggested Sabina.

"Yeah," Alex nodded. Although he was looking forward to traveling to NYC, there was a little part of him that was reserved. The CIA was located there… Of course, it made no sense to dread going to New York for that reason alone, because the CIA had gotten in contact with him a few times already, and his location had proved no hinderance to them. In the past year Alex had said no to three missions they had wanted him to take part in.

"Alex?" Sabina's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Are you okay?" She was gazing at him, her blue eyes a little worried. _It's good news_, he told himself firmly._ Seeing New York will be fun. _He didn't want to let the CIA get to him.

"Yeah, I was just… just thinking about something." Alex shrugged it off.

"All right, well, c'mon, we don't want to be late for school." Sabina stood up.

"You just don't want to miss 'Mr. Handsome's' English class," Alex teased, as he followed her out the door.

Sabina elbowed him. "His name is Mr. Handson," she corrected. "And I only called him handsome _once_."

~o~

The CIA had asked Alex three times to be recruited for missions. All three times, Alex had declined them. However, because of their manipulative tricks and badgering, Alex had ended up blowing his spy status in front of his best friend, Lucas. Lucas hadn't been mad at him for hiding his being a spy, but unlike Tom he hadn't understood either; he had been avoiding Alex ever since. It had been two months since the whole incident, two months in which Lucas had been making up excuses to stay away from Alex.

It was just another reason Alex despised the spy life. The worst part was that he hadn't told Sabina or her parents about the requests he'd received from the CIA—he'd hidden it from them. They suspected nothing. Alex hadn't meant to hide it from them, he just hadn't wanted them to worry unnecessarily. He felt horribly guilty every time he thought about it. Alex was afraid of becoming like Ian Rider, whom he loved, but didn't want to be. He didn't want to hide parts of his life from his… family. Because that was what the Pleasure's were to him now; they were like family. That was also the reason that despite the fact he really liked Sabina, he wasn't planning on ever asking her out. He couldn't stand to loose her as a friend if things didn't work out.

With all that running through his mind, Alex was surprised to see he was in a deserted part of town. He was walking home from school, just having finished his after school football—or soccer, as it was known here—practice. He must have turned left instead of right on Fifth Street, he realized. Alex sighed. This street would also take him home, but it would take longer. Just as he was internally debating about backtracking and turning right or continuing home this way, he saw Lucas coming towards him. He blinked. The other boy had been avoiding him for so long. What had suddenly changed?

As Lucas drew nearer, Alex noted he was running towards him, constantly glancing behind his shoulder, his expression oddly determined and grim and panicked all at once. Lucas didn't seem to have seen Alex yet. Alex didn't know what was going on. He couldn't see anything or anyone _behind_ Lucas, but if he didn't know any better he would have said Lucas was running away from something.

Lucas looked ahead and met Alex's gaze. His face went blank with shock and Alex saw him mutter something, before his earlier panic returned to his face. "Go away!" Lucas yelled, his voice holding an edge. "Don't follow me!"

Abruptly, he turned into an alleyway down the street. Just like that he was gone. Confused, Alex wondered what was going on.

There was a few second's silence before he heard the strangest noise. It was somewhere in-between a scream and a roar. It was shrill and throaty, not unlike nails scratching on glass. It made Alex want to rip out his ears and crawl into a hole. In that moment he wanted do whatever it took to escape that sound. Instead, he ran towards the alleyway; it wasn't far away. _What are you doing?_ a part of him was saying,_ run _away_ from the sound, not towards it!_ Yet Alex was positive that sound had not come from Lucas. Which left the question, what had made it? The noise was certainly not one a human was capable of making.

When he reached the alleyway Alex saw a scene he'd never forget.

It was an insect… or was it? That didn't matter at the moment. What mattered was that it was at least six feet wide, extremely tall and giant-like, it's skin black, oily, pulsating and slightly translucent. It had about eight eyes and a large, curving mouth, bursting with teeth. It's teeth and hands (which consisted of three claws, if you could even call them that, each) were dripping a strange purple liquid, that seemed to burn and fizz whatever it touched—dustbin lids, the concrete, the dumpsters.

It was towering over Lucas, who held a glowing blade in his hand. Another one stuck out of the back of the beast. More of the purple substance seeped out of the wound. For a moment Alex was speechless. Then the questions came—_What is this? Why are the blades glowing? Is this a dream? Just how acidic is the purple liquid? This is a joke, right?_

_"Alex!"_ Lucas glared at him and despite the situation, he managed to sound angry. "I should've known you wouldn't just leave."

"What the," Alex began, his voice sounding dry, even to his own ears, "_hell_ is going on?"

"I don't suppose you'd believe this is just an out of control dog? No? You want the truth? It's a demon, and a deadly one at that. But, you're a spy, maybe you'll be able to keep yourself alive until I—" At that moment the… demon?… swiped at Lucas with it's claws, snarling, all eight eyes focused on him.

Lucas dodged the blows and was suddenly on the thing's arm—Alex narrowed his eyes, Lucas moved so fast—until he was at the thing's neck, looking like an ant in comparison, sinking his now tiny looking glowing weapon into it's neck. Another piercing howl arose and this time Alex had to step back and cover his ears, his legs shaking. This close up it's scream was unbearable.

"What do you mean demon?" Alex yelled, and like a switch being turned off, the demon-thing suddenly stopped screaming. It rounded on him, emitting a low growling.

Lucas ignored his question, his voice urgent and shouting instructions. "I've stabbed it in the neck, which is a soft spot for demons like this. It's their weakness, their kryptonite so to speak. It should die soon enough, but it's probably got another minute of life left. Don't let the purple stuff get on you—Alex _move_!"

Alex did move, dodging a swipe from the demon, but not out of the alley like Lucas had been expecting. Alex dived through the demon's legs, so he was where Lucas had been a minute ago. There were two more fiery blades laying on the ground nearby. "Don't touch the glowing blades either—!" Lucas was yelling. Instead of reaching for them, Alex climbed a dumpster, just as the 'demon' spat a whole gunk of purple goo at the spot he'd been in mere seconds before.

It was slowing down, becoming less alert, even Alex could tell that. Alex could also tell Lucas was stuck up on top of the demon, after all, he certainly couldn't just jump down from that height. Alex grabbed the lid of a bin near the dumpster—it was large and cold but not that heavy—and threw it with all his strength. By that time Lucas was climbing down the beast slowly and barely managed to grab ahold of it. "Um, what am I supposed to do with this—?" The demon began to crumble and fall in on itself, more and more purple goo beginning to ooze out of it.

"Try sliding down the thing," Alex shouted, only feeling slightly silly as he suggested it. "On the bin lid. It's large enough for you. Plus, the thing's skin looks pretty smooth."

Alex thought he heard Lucas snort, "Pretty smooth, he says" but he didn't have time to dwell on it as the creature roared again, it's voice getting higher and higher… and then it exploded.

Alex jumped behind the dumpster, into the little gap between it's back and the wall. It stunk badly down there and he'd hit his elbow against something hard in his haste, but he didn't want to get any of the burning purple slime on him. After a few minutes of stifling silence, he poked his head out, eyes wary.

He took in the scene in front of him with bewilderment; the alley looked ramshackled, but there was no trace of the creature or any purple liquid. The air did smell acidic though, as if some chemical had been burning through the alley, though there were no scorch marks to show it. No telltale sign of what had just taken place. _Was I … dreaming?_ Alex thought uncertainly. _No_. His eyes rested on Lucas, and he had his answer.

Lucas was crouching in the corner, panting, his face and arms a little cut up, his clothes dirty, the lid of the rubbish bin resting beside him, the underside of which was coated in purple and bits of black. "Thanks for the lid," he puffed at Alex, not looking up.

"What was that?"

"I—"

"Did you say demon before?" Alex pressed. "I never took you as the type that believed in that sort of stuff."

"Well I do," Lucas admitted, sounding exhausted, looking at Alex squarely. "And you should too—did you not see that? Yeah, you did. But you're going to pretend you didn't and make up an excuse, no matter how dumb it is, despite the fact you know you'd being lying to yourself," his voice was getting louder and louder, "because you're a _mundane_ and that's all you do."

Alex stared at him. Lucas had never had an outburst before. "Listen, I don't know what you're talking about," Alex said, pushing back some hair which had fallen into his eyes, "so why don't you just explain—" he paused. His hand had come back with sticky purple stuff on it. Alex felt his forehead. It too was sticky and gooey. He hadn't noticed it before, but it seemed he had managed to get some of the liquid on himself.

Lucas was looking at him with wide eyes. "Alex," he said. Then he swore profusely. "Let's go."

"Where? Listen, I don't feel anything. I feel fine," Alex began, but he was cut off.

"Of course you don't feel anything. That's the deal with that particular demon. It's very poisonous and later, rather than sooner, you'll feel it's affects. As in, when it's too late." Lucas started to head out the alleyway and Alex followed, although slowly.

"Luc, you're acting crazy—"

Lucas glared at him. "Fine, you're right, I am. Give me you arm."

"What?"

"Your arm," Lucas repeated firmly. "It's me, okay? You can trust me."

Alex hesitantly held out his arm. He wasn't even sure he knew Lucas anymore. He studied the other boy warily. "What are you—_ahh_," he gasped, the pain sudden. Lucas had grabbed his arm and Alex had barely seen a flash of silver before he felt the cool sting of metal. And burning. So much burning. But Lucas hadn't stopped. Alex yanked his arm away and Lucas looked at him, his expression guilty.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice low. "I'm really sorry. I never thought this would happen to you."

Alex didn't know what to think, what to say. His arm was burning furiously, but there was no blood. Lucas hadn't cut him. So what had he done?

Alex opened his mouth but before he could do anything, before he could feel angry, more confused or demand answers, a rush of blackness took over. Alex lost consciousness.


	3. Chapter 2

**2**

* * *

><p>Alex drifted in and out of consciousness. He saw glimpses of things—the white walls of a room filled with beds, burning wings, an anxious pale face—yet he couldn't tell the difference between reality and dreams…<p>

~o~

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

Alex stirred, unsure whether he was awake or dreaming. What he was certain about, though, was that there was a voice… somewhere… in the darkness. Yelling. Loudly.

"I… I had to—the demon, it—" The second voice sounded familiar… It held an edge of defiance.

"I DON'T CARE WHAT THE DEMON DID! IF HE HAD BECOME A FORSAKEN, THEN PERHAPS HE WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER OFF DEAD!"

"BUT HE'S NOT DEAD!" The second voice rose too. It obviously belonged to a male… His friend. Lucas. Yes, Alex thought, that's his name. Lucas.

Lucas sounded almost as angry as the shrill first voice. "He's alive, all right? And he wouldn't have been if I hadn't…"

"YOU ARE NOT GETTING OUT OF THIS JUST BECAUSE YOU GOT LUCKY!" The first voice screamed again. Definitely a female. There were a few moments of silence before… "Lucas George Cartwright I cannot believe what you did. I cannot believe the boy survived. You are extremely lucky he did. I expect this from people like the Lightwoods—it's something that would happen to their kind of family. But we are not like them. We're not here to tarnish our reputation. You… You're…" There was another silence, longer.

"Spit it out, then," Lucas said steadily, "Don't stop on account of hurting my feelings. You've already said I'm an idiot for trying to save a human life—which is our _job_."

"We're shadowhunters and our job—"

"Our job is destroying demons and _saving humans_." Lucas sounded disgusted. "Since you're so into rules and regulations, you'd think you'd know that."

"LUCAS, ARE YOU TRYING TO JUSTIFY WHAT YOU DID?"

"No." He sounded honest. "I'm just trying to explain my reasoning. I mean, I wouldn't do that to just anyone. He's my friend, I had to try."

"And that's how you treat your friends? I wonder what's in store for me?"

"You're not mad because of what I did! I know you. You're mad because I was helping out, at risk to myself, a mundane."

"Speaking of which, why on earth are you friends with a mundane?" Lucas didn't answer the voice. "All I can say is you're becoming more and more like your father." The female sounded just as disgusted as Lucas.

~o~

In his dreams, Alex saw Jack, red hair as flaming as always. She was looking at him, dressed in white. Alex's throat felt constricted. Jack's lips twitched, the corner's pulling up into a smile. Seeing her face, wearing a sad yet determined look, made Alex feel like he was being tortured all over again. All the feelings he'd controlled and locked away were struggling to get free and he couldn't think, couldn't hear.

Jack's lips were moving, mouthing words. Alex couldn't hear her for the ruckus going on in his own head but he saw her point. Point at him. 'You' she seemed to mouth.

_Yes, me. I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. You shouldn't be dead. _

Jack shook her head, although Alex had been certain he hadn't spoken aloud. She pointed at him again, her expression not accusing but urgent.

Alex wearily felt his face, his shoulders, for purple slime but found a feather instead. It was huge and as black as an oil slick. Then the black feather started dripping an oil like substance, which fell in fat drops on the floor.

Suddenly Jack was gone and he stood in front of a mirror. He saw a blonde haired boy with white wings. The wings were slowing turning black as the oily darkness crept towards his heart. The boy was oblivious, eyes closed, his face content.

Alex opened his mouth to warn him, but the boy opened his eyes before Alex could make a sound. His eyes were dark and black and sucked him into the oily darkness.

~o~

"Luc, you know what this means, don't you?"

A sigh. Then, "Yes."

"But then why—?"

"Because he's my friend. Because I saw his face when I found out about his spy career. He looked guilty. _Guilty_. I'd never even felt remotely bad before, you know, about hiding what I am from him. Now…"

"Guilt? That's it? That's why you did all this for the boy? Is guilt gonna be a good enough reason when the Clave finds out?"

"Why would they find out?"

"_Lucas_, I'm serious. They have their ways…"

"Sure they do."

"Luc?"

"Yeah?"

"What _we_ are. I'm a Shadowhunter too."

~o~

Alex felt a slow stinging sensation, rising, filling him up, flooding in. _Ow_. It hurt… It felt as if someone was roasting him over a fire, but the fire was alight inside him. No fever had even made him feel this hot. Just as quickly, he was cold, freezing. He wanted to curl up into a ball but he couldn't move… Shapes flashed in and out of his mind, the word _clairvoyance_ becoming bolder and bolder until—he felt nothing at all. Just numb. His mind was blank, empty, a grey fog seeping in and bringing ignorance with it. At first, Alex welcomed it. Then he heard a voice.

_It's over._

_Yes. _Someone answered the voice.

_That was dangerous._

_Yes. _The second voice sounded grim. _But lately, everything has been._

_ Are you ever going to tell… Alex Rider, was it?_

_ Yes._

_ Yes, that's his name? Or yes you're going to tell him?_

_ No._

_ No?_

_ You're annoying._

_ You can't not tell him. Lucas, not telling him would be the stupidest thing you've done so far, and you've done a lot of stupid things._

Lucas? Alarm bells rang in Alex's head.

_Shush Jen, he's almost awake._

Thats right, Alex thought, relieved that he was finally able to think coherent thoughts. I'm waking up. And I'm angry.

But the grey fog thickened with force, dragging Alex under.

~o~

Alex awoke a few hours later. Groggily, he stretched himself, wincing at his stiff muscles. Slowly, he recalled the previous events. Lucas, the burning on his arm—and before that, the monster…

Alex sat up, ready to demand an explanation.

Naturally, he was immensely shocked to find himself in his own room.

* * *

><p>N: So, sorry for the late update (yeah, *really* late update). School started and things just got in the way. Anyway I promise the next chapter will be longer (unless you think this was long enough, in which case, yay) and I'll try put it up faster. : ]<p> 


	4. Chapter 3

**3**

* * *

><p>Alex blinked. The doors to his closet stared back at him. He was sitting in his bed, his sheets all over the ground, probably as a result of his abruptness in getting up. His first thought was… that he didn't know what to think. The pale grey carpet, the white walls … he was obviously in <em>his<em> room. Alex was quiet, feeling unusually groggy and slow. _So I'm back_, he thought uncertainly. Only… was it possible he had never gone anywhere in the first place?

Had everything simply been… a dream?

Groaning, Alex put his head in his hands.

"Ahem." Someone cleared their throat.

Alex whipped around to face the noise. There, in the corner of his room, on a blue chair, sat Lucas. Alex felt bemused—how had he not noticed Luc earlier?

"Lucas?" Alex hadn't intended it to sound like a question. He wasn't sure whether or not he was angry at Luc. If only his head didn't feel so heavy and thick...

"Alex." The other boy's voice was uncharacteristically sombre. He tried a smile, although it looked like more of a grimace. "How are you feeling?"

All of a sudden, Alex felt quite angry. A dream. He had honestly been trying to dismiss what had happened as a dream. No way would it be that easy—and why else would Lucas be in his room? Last Alex remembered, they hadn't spoken since… since his spy status had been exposed.

Alex shook his head, but the grogginess wouldn't go away. "Honestly? Not good. Terrible, actually. You see, I have no idea what's going on." He narrowed his eyes.

Lucas seemed to wince. "Hah, you don't say." His light, breezy tone sounded a little forced. "Well, I'd expect no less—you did have a pretty bad concussion after all! I still can't believe you stepped in like you did… Those thugs were pretty scary." Noticing Alex's confused look, he added, "In the alleyway. _Remember_?" Lucas said the last word slowly, as if Alex was mentally impaired.

Alex hesitated. He wanted to snap at Lucas that he did remember, but he _didn't_ have any memory of thugs. He did, however, recall seeing a giant monster in an alleyway… Alex frowned. "No." He paused. He had so many questions, but didn't know where to begin. In any case, Lucas didn't give him a chance to add anything.

"No?" Lucas repeated, brow furrowed, sounding concerned. "Maybe the doctor should check you out again—in fact, I should probably tell Mr. and Mrs Pleasant that you're awake. Sabina would want to know too; she was pretty worried…"

Alex shook his head. None of this made any sense. "Luc, I don't understand, or believe, a word you're saying." Lucas's head snapped up. "What about the monster thing?" There, he'd said it. "And my arm—you, I don't know, burned my arm… or… something." Alex raised his arm and noticed, belatedly, that he was somehow dressed in his pyjamas. He shuddered, wondering how that had happened—not that this was the first time he'd woken up in a different place than he remembered being in last. At least he wasn't in any danger this time. His arms bore a few bruises, but no red blisters, or anything else that indicated a burn. Yet he wasn't looking for red patches in the first place. _"I swear,"_ Alex breathed, more to himself than Lucas, "I saw some black mark on my arm earlier."

"Earlier?"

"Yeah, earlier. In the Alleyway. After the monster exploded and my forehead had the slime on it. And yes, I realize how stupid that sounds."

"Err, okay, buddy." Lucas quickly got up, talking in a slow voice, which he probably intended to be soothing. It came across as condescending. "I don't know what you think happened, but what I recall is that there were some thugs trying to mug me, and you stepped in.

"I was running away from them, and decided to duck into an alleyway. It was a dead end. You saw me, followed me and asked what was up. I told you to call 911 and you did, but, well, then _they_ showed up. The thugs. They weren't going to let you walk away once they saw you, not that you planned to leave me anyway." Lucas sounded rueful. "You were being stupid. I mean, don't get me wrong, it was brave of you to stay and try defend me, but by the time the police came we'd been pretty badly beaten. You worse than me." Lucas pointed to the bruises on his face and arms. Now that Alex really looked at Luc, he saw Lucas wasn't looking completely healthy either. "Six against two. Not great odds. You had a concussion, after this one guy clocked you badly. We took you to the hospital."

"'We?'"

"Me, and a police officer."

Alex shook his head again. "I still don't believe you," he said, but his conviction of this, and his anger too, were beginning to leave him. "I…"

"Listen." Lucas stared intently at Alex. "I'm not sure what exactly it is you think happened. For some reason you're convinced something to do with slime and monsters apparently occurred, but I can assure you that _none of that is real_."

"You seem to want me to believe that pretty badly," Alex pointed out.

Lucas threw his hands up, exasperated. "Because it's the truth!"

"You were saying something else _before_. You went on a rant about… I don't know. Humans?" Alex knew he must sound crazy. Then something clicked. According to the Lucas of… last night?—Alex didn't actually know how long he'd been asleep for, it couldn't have been more than a day, but he didn't feel sure of anything just then—the slime had been fatal. It must have left a mark.

Alex got up, just as Lucas was in the middle of saying, "I'm going to go get the others—like I said, everyone's been worried about you." Ignoring him, Alex went out of the room. "Alex?" Lucas said loudly, in alarm, behind him. "Alex! Where are you going? Alex, wait!" Alex went down the hall and into the bathroom, Lucas following closely behind him. He stood in front of the mirror above the sink, and glanced at his reflection.

His blonde hair was a mess; his face was bruised at the forehead, and full of cuts and scrapes that were already beginning to heal.

But no ominous mark. Nothing inexplicable, like a green stain or anything. If he was being honest with himself, Alex realized he hadn't been sure what to expect in the first place. It was then it struck him how insane he was acting. Monsters? Slime? But he had been _so_ sure... He met the gaze of Lucas's reflection in the mirror.

"The bruises are from the punch. You then fell on the ground, and hit your head on the concrete, which, probably, is why your concussion was so bad," Lucas said quietly.

Alex didn't know what to say. Was it possible that Lucas was right? After all, monsters simply weren't real, and Lucas's explanation did make more sense. Alex sighed. He had no idea why he was working so hard to prove that he and Luc had fought a monster.

It was silly, and now, in the face of reality, obviously nonsense.

~o~

They went back to Alex's room and Alex sat down heavily on his bed. Lucas pointed at a glass of water on the bedside table. "At least get some fluids in you. And food. You feel hungry?"

Alex drank the water, but declined the offer of food, choosing not to comment on how weird it was to have Luc offering him food in his own house. He moved toward the door and Lucas stopped him. "Sorry, you're on bed rest for the day."

"I should probably tell everyone I'm awake," Alex objected.

"I'll go get everyone to come to you." At Alex's accusing look, Lucas shrugged. "Doctor's orders. Not my doing."

Alex studied Lucas. Despite everything, he still felt something was off about the other boy. _By the time the police came we'd been pretty badly beaten. You worse than me._ "Your face looks worse than mine," said Alex finally. "No offence. Are you sure _I_ gotten beaten worse that you?"

Lucas laughed. "Who ended up with a concussion?"

"Why were the thugs mugging you in the first place?"

"Maybe I looked like an easy target? I don't know. Who ever said people who feel the need to steal from others have rational motives." Lucas shrugged it off. "At least no one was stabbed. Not that any of them had a knife—but, you know, you hear about muggers with blades and guns… at least this group was relatively unarmed." Alex raised an eyebrow at that. "One guy had a small blade," Lucas explained, "but you knocked it out of his hand. I, err, didn't mention that part to your... to Mr and Mrs Pleasure. I didn't want to worry them. Anyway, you're okay, and that's what counts." Then he left, to go get Sabina and her parents.

~o~

Sabina was glad to see Alex awake, as were her parents. Lucas left half an hour later, mumbling about homework and his own family to get home to. Edward and Liz thanked him again; it turned out that Lucas had been the one who'd brought Alex home the day before. Apparently, Liz and Edward hadn't known about what had happened to him until he'd been brought home, as Lucas had no mobile. Also, it seemed that Alex had actually been conscious when he'd arrived home. According to Sabina, Liz and Edward, he'd fallen asleep as soon as he'd hit the bed.

Their words were meant to be comforting, but Alex was bothered by the fact he had no memory of this whatsoever.

For the rest of the day Alex was urged to stay in bed and 'just relax'. Alex, surprisingly, found he was still exhausted and quickly fell asleep again, not long after Lucas had left.

He woke up in the early evening, feeling energetic and ready to move around. Liz immediately squashed that idea and insisted he stay in bed until at least the next day. As a consequence Alex felt extremely restless for the rest of the day.

"Well," Sabina pointed out, later that evening, grinning at him, "at least you don't have to go to school tomorrow." She was sitting on the same blue chair that Lucas had sat on, although she'd moved it closer to Alex's bed. "You know, I almost feel like I'm in a hospital, visiting a patient. You're getting the complete luxury treatment here."

Alex laughed at that. "That's true. Although, to be honest, I wouldn't really mind school," he said. "I need to move around and be get out of bed, and it's always a good distraction."

Sabina shook her head. "Please. You're just saying that because you're in your bed and relaxed and comfortable and _don't_ actually have to wake up early tomorrow."

"Hm, you're right. I think I'll spend tomorrow just watching TV all day long. After waking up as late as possible, that is." Alex grinned.

Sabina laughed. "Are you teasing me?" She shook her head. "So, what do you remember about the attack? Lucas told us his version, but…" she let her sentence trail off.

"Not much." For some reason, it was hard for Alex to admit this. He didn't like the idea of gaps in his memory. "I remember waking up, and Lucas reminding me about the thugs. I can't remember the actual thing. I also vaguely remember a dream I had—of monsters and slime, and of discussing that dream with Lucas."

Sabina looked torn between amusement and exasperation. "So you wake up, after having a pretty scary previous day, full of thugs and mugging. You see Lucas and the first thing you do is discuss a dream about slime?" He doubted it had been _exactly_ like that, but he couldn't remember many details. Alex shrugged, once again uncomfortable with the vagueness of his memory. "Sometimes I don't understand you." But she was smiling. She stopped once she noticed Alex's troubled look. "Well, let's take our minds off _that_." Alex nodded, more than ready to change the subject. "Remember when I told you about mum and dad's plans about,, visiting New York?"

"Yeah."

"Well, the fact that we're going to New York just hit me again. And I've got to say, I'm pretty excited." Sabina's blue eyes were alight. She really liked to travel, and it was one of the things they had in common.

Alex slowly smiled as he said, "Yeah, me too."

"In less than week we'll be in New York."

Alex supposed that after everything weird that had happened to him lately, he _should_ be looking forward to going to New York and just having some fun. "Yeah. Really soon… but that's good. That's great, actually," Alex added.

"I'll say," Sabina agreed. "Days of just wandering around a foreign city and basically having a good time. It's probably just what we all need."

"Kind of like a vacation," Alex said.

After all, it wouldn't be such a bad thing to get away from the recent strangeness of Sans Francisco for a while...

* * *

><p><em><strong>N: <strong>So this took a while to update. Months, actually... Sorry about that-really, I am! I will try much harder to update more frequently. Thanks to the people who reviewed-I had no idea reviews could be so motivating, but they sure were! So thank you. Okay, cool, and I hope you like the story. _


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